Turn Around
by inomniaparatus01
Summary: When Logan hears of Richard's death he re-enters Rory's life eight years after his failed proposal. How will Rory react? What will happen between the two former lovers? Written as a possible response to the revival.
1. Authors Note

Hello everyone!

This is my first foray into the world of fanfic. I hope you like it.

I would like to give you a spoiler warning. Some minor aspects of this story have been taken from information that we have been given about the Netflix revival. Most of these are very minor details from the revival, many of which can be expected, and most are from the entertainment weekly article. If you have read that you should be good to go.

If you want to remain 100% spoiler free for the revival, I suggest you wait to read this, but please remember, you've been warned that these are included.

I was inspired for this story, while looking through information about the revival, and call me impatient, but I can't wait to see what it brings. I think that by this story you can guess that I am firmly on team Logan haha. As I was going through all the revival info, while listening to music, I came across a song that helped inspire this fanfic. Although not specifically a songfic, I do like to think that the emotions from this particular version of this song, played into the feelings of Rory and Logan in this story.

For those interested, the song is "Total Eclipse of the Heart" but not the version most of you know. This version is by Jill Andrews. If you want to take a listen, it can be found on youtube. I tried to share a link, but am having no luck! It is easily found by searching! (Sorry)

As always, I don't own these characters, though I wish I did.

One last thing, I love feedback! So if you are giving this a read please let me know what you think.

Without further ado, I give you Turn Around.


	2. Chapter 1

**Palo Alto California - September 2015**

Scattered champagne glasses sat on tables in the conference room, empty food trays had been cleaned up and stacked for the garbage. A few co-workers still chatted, though at 9pm many had gone home already. The party had been winding down for the last hour, and Logan Huntzberger found himself slipping back into his old office one last time.

Everything had already been packed up and shipped to New York. It was amazing how their small tech start-up had developed into such a success in just eight short years. They were now a multi-national, multi-billion dollar corporation, and he had been tasked to head up the brand new, New York office. He was going to miss this place, and miss seeing these people every day, but he knew it was time for another fresh start.

He was not one for big goodbyes, so he slipped out quietly, and headed back on foot to his apartment a few blocks away. It had been a rough few weeks, the rush to pack up and move back to the east coast had taken its toll. The expected conversations with his girlfriend had not surprised him. She had expected to be moving to New York with him, it had been after all, four years. She had expected to be getting engaged, but the idea was not something that Logan agreed with. It was clear, that she loved him, and she would make a good wife. Just not for him, he didn't love her, not enough. As much as he hated it, his heart still belonged to someone else.

It was on this cool California evening, that Logan for a moment let his mind wander to her. Although he hadn't spoken to her in eight years, he followed all of her work, from her time on the Obama campaign forward. He was especially proud when she had an article published in the New Yorker. He had almost called her to congratulate her for that accomplishment, but he couldn't bring himself to pick up the phone. It wasn't his place, not anymore. These last few years though, her writing did not seem as passionate anymore, not as full of excitement, it made him worry about her, but it really wasn't any of his business. Maybe his relationship with Elizabeth would have worked better if he hadn't spent so much time on what could have been rather than what he had right in front of him.

California hadn't been all that it was cracked up to be, the house with the avocado tree never happened, not without her. He spent more hours than he ever imagined, in the office, throwing himself into his work to mask his pain. It had put a strain on his friendships back east, and prevented him from being too involved in the social scene in his new life. He would never admit it to anyone, but he was not happy.

As he unlocked his apartment door, he could hear his cell phone ringing. He had forgotten it on the counter in the rush to get to his farewell party on time. Not quick enough, he grabbed for the phone and saw that he had a dozen missed calls from Colin, Finn, and Honor. His gut sank, he knew something must be wrong. He hadn't heard from Colin or Finn in months, and Honor knew he would be celebrating tonight.

He redialed the last missed call- Finn. It barely had a chance to ring when Finn picked up.

"Logan, we've been trying to reach you for hours…" Finn said.

Logan had tried to cut him off "Finn, what's wrong, what happened?"

"It's Rory."

Logan's heart skipped a beat.

"What does this have to do with me?" Logan tried hard to show resolve and not let Finn know how much that name still hurt him after all these years.

"Listen mate, I know you don't truly feel that way. I know she hurt you, I can't begin to imagine what that felt like, but this is important. It's Richard, he had another heart attack. He's gone."

Logan felt his heart sink, Rory had been so close with her grandfather, Richard understood her in a way that no one else did. He had to go, now. He wasn't scheduled to fly out for another few days, but he had to go to her. He had to see that she was ok.

"I'm getting on the next plane." Logan replied, running around his apartment trying to gather a few things for the next few days.

"Don't bother mate, not yet. Rory is on her way home to her mum, she's taking some time off. I'll let you know when I hear more."

"Thanks", Logan hung up the phone and sank down onto his couch. Out of instinct, he dialed her number. Even eight years later, it was like second nature to him.

 _The number you have reached is not in service. Please hang up and try your call again later._

He cursed, though he shouldn't be surprised. It had been eight years, and he had gone through two new phone numbers since then.

There was nothing else he could do tonight, so he poured himself a scotch, had a drink, and resumed packing up his life in California.

 **...**

 **Somewhere in North Carolina- Two days prior**

Rory Gilmore was bored. Sitting in a diner in the middle of nowhere, waiting for some stupid guy to become the new world record holder in eating the most sweet potatoes in one sitting.

"Is this really what my life has come to?" Rory muttered under her breath. It had been eight years since she graduated Yale. She felt that her first job had promise, following around an up and coming senator and presidential hopeful, Barack Obama.

Well, he had a lot of promise, me not so much. Rory thought bitterly. The campaign trail had been a great experience, she saw history change before her very eyes, and wrote about it with her very words. Times were tough however, and thanks to the economy, soon after, Rory found herself without a job.

 _You have lots of promise Gilmore, I wish I didn't have to do this, you'll land on your feet though. The great ones always do._

She hadn't landed on her feet though, not really. She had taken short term gig after short term gig, travelling all over the country, to report on things that were just well, not news. This was not what she had signed up for.

As she sat there with her fourth cup of coffee, she tried to start writing, while some slob on the other side of the diner stuffed himself with sweet potato after sweet potato. Rory hadn't even had any, and vowed that she would never eat another sweet potato again after this. After sitting for 20 minutes staring at a blank computer screen, she thought maybe Mitchum Huntzberger was right all those years ago. Maybe she didn't have it, maybe that's why she couldn't get any decent reporting job. Not that she had tried nearly as hard as she could have to get one. The Huntzbergers owned so many papers, and she couldn't bring herself to apply to any of them. She couldn't risk running into Mitchum, or even worse, running into Logan.

Deep down, she still loved him, but he had made it clear, it was all or nothing. Proposal or break-up. It wasn't even that she wasn't ready to say yes, it's just that everything was so uncertain with graduating Yale, having no job, and being so young. She wanted to marry him, god had she wanted to marry him, but she was scared, and needed more time. Time to grow up, time to explore her career opportunities, time that he wasn't willing to give her.

 _The first few days after the breakup were tough, but nothing was as tough as the first few months on the campaign trail. Not only was she heartbroken, but she was homesick. She cried herself to sleep every night for weeks. She kept herself at a distance from all the other reporters on the campaign, not wanting to get too close to anyone, this assignment was her first, she wanted to do well, but she was fearful of getting hurt by the short timespan that she would be involved. She threw herself into her work instead, receiving several job offers, but stayed out of loyalty. Not that it did her any good, when she lost her job, none of the other papers were able to hire her either. Tough times they were._

She really hadn't had much luck in the dating world since, a series of short term relationships, if you could even call them that. Not staying in one spot for very long does that to a person. Not that she really cared, her heart wasn't in it. She hadn't found anyone who made her feel like he did.

Rory was snapped out of her daze by the ringing of her cell phone. Looking at the caller ID it was Luke. This struck her as odd as it was always her mother who would call, though Luke would usually talk to her for a few minutes as well.

She had always considered Luke to be a father figure to her, and now that he and Lorelai had been engaged for six years, with no plans to make it more official, she felt that he truly was a step-father to her.

She stepped outside the diner to answer her call.

"Hi Luke, what gives me the pleasure of receiving a phone call from you today?" Rory greeted.

"Rory, it's your grandfather. He had another heart attack, it's not looking good kid."

Rory felt like she was going to vomit. Everything went out of focus around her, she could barely process what Luke was saying.

"Wheres… Hows… Whats..." Rory struggled to form a coherent sentence.

"Your mom is at the hospital right now, with Emily. I hate to ask you to do this, but you need to get back here as soon as you can." Luke responded.

Rory hung up the phone, not even saying goodbye. She stumbled back to her table, tears filling her eyes. She grabbed her laptop, the keys to her rental and ran out the door.


	3. Chapter 2

_**Authors Note:**_ Thank you so much for the feedback/favourites/views already! I am a tad on the impatient side, and the next chapter is ready to go, so without further ado! Also, please continue to let me know what you think!

 _ **Four months later**_

Logan cursed his luck, an unexpected business trip had brought him back to California for the last four days, and now thanks to a snow storm back east, his flight was delayed. He paced back and forth in the terminal cursing himself for taking the business trip in the first place. It could have waited, but instead, he thought a few days back in the sunshine would do him good. Now however, he wishing he hadn't gone, not now. Not the night before Richard's memorial service.

He still had not contacted Rory, after a few days of waiting he no longer felt the sudden urge to contact her. By the time Finn had called back with details of the arrangements, Logan was busy coordinating his move to New York, and didn't have time to let his thoughts dwell on Rory.

The delay in the memorial service was to give the family time to pull themselves together. Emily had been an absolute mess, refusing to leave her home. It was quite the scandal in the DAR, when she showed up a few weeks later drunk, Honor had told him.

An hour later, and his flight was finally boarding. Barring no more delays, he might just make it in time. As quickly as it hadn't been a priority, it had become one once again. He had to go see her, make sure she was ok.

After a lengthy flight, especially turbulent for the last half hour, an announcement came over the aircraft.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we apologise for the delay, but unfortunately, due to the weather conditions we will not be landing in New York tonight. We will be re-routing to Boston."

Logan slammed his hand down on his tray table, shaking his glass of water, and startling the person sitting in front of him.

A stewardess gave him a stern look, and he gave a half smile, an embarrassed apology. This should not have been a big deal to him, and he knew it. Rory had not been a part of his life for the last eight years, but part of him held on to the idea, that as much as she had hurt him, he needed to be there for her, for this.

Landing in Boston, Logan sprinted through the terminal to find the closest car rental service, at two o'clock in the morning there was only one open, with about 10 people in line in front of him. As the line in front of him reduced, he kept looking at his watch, trying to figure out whether or not he would be able to get back to Hartford in time. The storm was inching closer and closer to Boston, and it was predicted to be one of the worst storms of the season.

"I'm sorry sir, all we have are luxury cars that we generally do not rent out during snowstorms because they are not equipped with winter tires."

Logan replied "I don't care what you normally do, I need a car now, and I'll pay double your normal rate if I have to."

The clerk's eyes went wide, but he started the paperwork.

Fifteen minutes later, Logan was pulling out of the parking lot, as the first snowflakes started to fall.

The weather conditions had quickly deteriorated, and Logan found himself driving down the I90 at a snails pace in an effort to keep the car on the road. Looking at the time on the dashboard he cursed himself, it was now 5 am, and Logan was still in Massachusetts. He was exhausted, having been up for almost a full day at this point, and the heat blasting in the car was not helping matters.

Logan found his eyes getting heavy, he fought and fought to keep them open, he had to keep going. Suddenly Logan felt a jerking motion, a thump and a pop. His eyes had drooped long enough that he had drifted toward the shoulder. Clearly he had hit something. He threw his coat and gloves back on, and climbed out of the car to assess the damage. The front passenger side tire was flat, the rim bent at an awkward angle. Opening the trunk he discovered that there was no spare tire.

"Shit, shit shit" he cursed himself. He was having no luck today, and began to think the universe was telling him that he wasn't supposed to go see Rory.

He climbed back into the car, and quickly went through his phone to determine if he knew anyone nearby who might be able to help him out. He wasn't near any major towns or cities, and with the storm most sane people were hunkered down in their warm, dry, homes.

Left without many options, Logan decided to take the one step, he did not want to do.

"Hello? Dad? Look, yeah I know it's early but this is important..."

...

The memorial service had been beautiful, it was clear just how well loved her grandfather was. All of Hartford's society had been there with one notable exception- the Huntzbergers, and she was not surprised, considering, well, everything that had went on between the two families. Honor had sent her condolences, but with being eight and a half months pregnant, her doctor had expressed wishes that she should not be travelling.

Many had come to support Rory though, both expected and unexpected. Lane, Paris, and Jess were there for her like they always were. She and Jess had reconnected a few years back, and after a failed date, realized what they had between them, was a solid friendship, nothing more. She had been surprised to see Madeline and Louise, Lucy and Olivia, and even Dean.

A tiny part of her hoped that Logan might come, but he had made it clear, it was all or nothing, and for the last eight years, it was clear that the nothing was going to continue. She had tried calling him, from those early weeks on the campaign trail, but he had already changed his phone number. She could have emailed him, sure, but frankly, she hadn't given up on him, it was he who gave up on her. She was willing to fight for them, and he just walked away, like a spoiled brat with his tail between his legs.

This reception however was trying on her nerves, between friends that she loved, and the ladies of the DAR, Rory was spent, and really not in the mood to make any small talk, but she was essentially trapped. Her mother had taken her grandmother up to bed- Emily was still not handling things well, and Lorelai was staying upstairs until Emily got settled. In other words, Rory was currently the last Gilmore standing in this room full of people.

She could only shake so many hands, and be offered condolences so many times before she wanted to snap. This had been a trying day, Rory remained stoic, having shed all her tears months ago, she and Lorelai were the pillars of strength that Emily needed. Rory had even taken the last four months off as an extended leave of absence and had moved back into the pool house, to help take care of Emily after the incident at the DAR. That would be changing soon though, a few more days and Rory would be back in the world of journalism, writing stories about things she didn't care about. She snorted at the thought. This was not where her life was supposed to be at this point. The only thing she wrote that she was truly happy with in the last two years was her eulogy to her grandfather, which had taken her two months to perfect.

As she saw Lorelai slip back into the room, she took that as her cue to sneak back out. She quietly made her way for the pool house when she heard her name called from behind her.

"Ms. Gilmore"

She tried to ignore the calling of her name, pretending she didn't hear it.

"Rory!"

Whoever it was, was persistent. She turned around to be standing face to face with Headmaster Charleston, whom she had successfully evaded all night up until this point. He had been emailing her for months asking her to come back to Chilton for a career day, to talk about her journalism. She had been avoiding emailing him back, she was no success story, not yet, and she was beginning to believe, not ever, at the rate she was going.

"Headmaster Charleston, I'm really sorry, I'm on my way to check on my grandmother. It has been a difficult few months as I am sure you can imagine, you'll have to excuse me, but I will be back shortly." Rory lied.

"Of course, Ms. Gilmore, we can talk then." he replied.

Rory re-routed herself to make it appear she was headed toward the upstairs of the house, before making a sharp turn at the kitchen and sneaking out the back door.

Walking into the pool house, she sighed. Finally, silence. She closed the curtains, slipped off her dress, and put on a comfortable old pair of pyjamas. Walking toward the counter, she grabbed a glass and poured some scotch from her grandfather's decanter. She had swiped the decanter from his office weeks ago, but had not been able to bring herself to drink it. Now, she felt like this was the right time. An all new low Gilmore, she thought to herself. Drinking alone.

She turned on the propane fireplace, and curled up in a chair, holding tight to the glass of scotch in her hand.

Hearing the pool house door open behind her, Rory felt her heart sink. She couldn't keep doing this.

"Look mom, I'm sorry, but I can't go back in there." Rory said, with only silence for a response.

Rory was about to turn around to tell whoever it was to go away when she heard a familiar voice.

"Hey Ace."


	4. Chapter 3

**AN:** Thank-you so much for the response so far! Please leave a review to let me know what you think!

 **AN2:** I posted this last night, but it didn't seem to update for some reason, so I've taken it down to repost. Stay tuned for chapter 4 later tonight.

 _ **Twenty minutes prior**_

Logan was late. After finally being rescued off the side of the highway by his father and having the rental car towed back to the Boston Airport, Logan had finally made it home to Hartford, for an awkward conversation with his parents about his rushed trip back. He had never intended on even informing his parents of this visit, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

His mother had been especially upset about the reasons for his visit, referring to Rory as "that girl". His father, had been a bit more understanding and willingly loaned Logan a car to use for the evening. Logan had showered, dressed, and headed toward the Gilmore house, having already missed the memorial service, but hoping he could catch Rory at the reception.

Upon his arrival, Logan discovered that there were still quite a few people there. He saw Luke first, who didn't look happy to see him, but greeted him regardless.

"Have you seen Rory?" Logan asked.

"Not in a while, she might have gone to help her mom with getting Emily settled upstairs." Luke responded, and excused himself from the conversation.

Logan continued around the room, seeing more people who looked displeased to see him, Paris, being Paris gave him a piece of her mind regardless of the time or place.

"Huntzberger, what in the hell is wrong with you, showing up here after eight years. You walked away from her, she didn't want to walk away from you. You broke her heart, and now you show up today of all days. You need to leave. Now."

"Paris, it's nice to see you too. You should know that today of all days, is the time that Rory needs support the most. In regard to the comment that I broke her heart? Well she broke mine. I never in a million years would have proposed, if I hadn't thought she was going to say yes, and then she said no. Not that it's any of your business, but I realize now, that I went all about that the wrong way, but it's too late now. Thats not why I'm here though. Now, I just want to express my condolences to Rory, if you'll please excuse me."

Logan continued around the room, looking for any sign of Rory, the whispers of Hartford society, just loud enough for him to hear.

"Isn't that?"

"I can't believe he would show up here"

" I can't believe he would show his face, today of all days"

"He should be ashamed of himself. After everything he did to that girl, wasn't that enough?"

Logan had heard enough, he didn't deserve this. He was almost ready to walk back out, when he saw Lorelai re-enter the room. She spotted him soon after he spotted her, and although she made a bit of a face in reaction, she made no movement to come greet him, or ask him to leave. He took that as a good sign. There was still no sign of Rory though, so Logan thought that maybe, just maybe he knew where to find her.

He stepped out onto the pool deck and noticed that all of the curtains to the pool house were closed. He took a breath, and started walking toward the door. Getting to the door, it took him a few seconds to pluck up the courage to try and open it. It was unlocked. He stepped inside and closed the door.

There she was, sitting there in her pyjamas, holding a glass of scotch. Her back was to him, but his heart skipped a beat at the sight of her and he found himself silently willing her to turn around.

"Look mom, I'm sorry, but I can't go back in there." Rory said, with only silence for a response.

He didn't know what to say to that, so he said the first thing that came to his mind.

"Hey Ace."

Rory turned around, took one look at him and burst into tears.

Logan quickly closed the gap between them and pulled her up into a big hug.

...

 _Hearing the pool house door open behind her, Rory felt her heart sink. She couldn't keep doing this._

" _Look mom, I'm sorry, but I can't go back in there." Rory said, with only silence for a response._

 _Rory was about to turn around to tell whoever it was to go away when she heard a familiar voice._

" _Hey Ace."_

Rory's heart skipped a beat, more out of shock than anything else, and turned around to face him. After eight years, he had come back. She took one look at him and burst into tears.

Before she knew it, Logan was pulling her up into a big hug, telling her everything was going to be ok. Logan guided her to the couch, sat her down, and let her continue to cry, never letting her go. Rory was grateful for this, even after all these years, having him hold her and comfort her, it just felt right.

After about twenty minutes, Rory was able to let the crying subside enough, to sit back and look at Logan. His years in California, had clearly been good for him, a hint of a tan, looking more fit than she could ever remember seeing him, and his eyes, oh his eyes, currently looking at her, with a look of concern.

"Hi" was all she managed to get out.

"Hi" he responded.

"Your shirt" Rory commented, noticing the big wet patch on his shoulder from where she had been crying.

"Don't worry about it Ace, it'll dry." Logan replied.

"Logan, I can't believe you came. It's been… well it's been so long."

"I had to see if you were alright."

"All the way from California?"

"You wouldn't believe the story if I tried…" Logan nodded.

"Logan.. I'm... I'm... sorry." Rory started

"Enough about us tonight, we don't need to talk about that. Not right now. That isn't why I came." Logan told her.

Rory nodded and looked down.

"Did you know that I didn't make it in time?" I was in the middle of North Carolina, and by the time I got home, I was two hours too late. I didn't get to say goodbye." Rory told him as the tears started up again.

Logan took Rory back into his arms, and let her continue to cry.

"Shh. Ace, it's ok. You're going to be ok" Logan whispered, so close, his lips almost touching her ear.

They sat there in silence for awhile, Rory finally starting to calm down, when something unexpected happened.

Logan, continuing to hold her, whispered "I've missed you Ace."

Rory sat back, with a slight look of surprise on her face. Before she even realized what she was doing, she had leaned in and kissed him, hard, passionately, and with more longing than she had even realized was possible. This kiss whether she liked it or not, represented the pain, and emptiness she had been feeling since their parting eight years ago. She had tried to move on, she had, but deep down, she knew, nothing compared to this, to him.

He broke apart first, looking back at her, running his hand through her hair, looking deep into her eyes, if she didn't know better, she thought he might actually be able to see right into her soul.

He closed the gap this time and kissed her again. Out of instinct, Rory put her hands on his chest, and began to pull Logan in closer to her. Against her better judgement, she reached to begin unbuttoning his shirt. She wasn't sure why, but she needed this, needed him, in this very moment.

Logan, obliged, helping her remove his shirt, and only breaking the kiss long to lift her pyjama top over her head. Standing up, Rory reached for his belt, undoing it quickly.

The atmosphere in the pool house was electric. As they stumbled for her bedroom, they left a trail of clothes in their wake.

Laying down on the bed, they began to make love. Slow, deliberate, full of passion, anguish, and pain at the last eight years of emptiness and loneliness, of opportunities lost, of things that could have been.

Logan was so gentle with her, this raw feeling of passion that they were both feeling, was evident in the way they connected, just right. They had always fit together so perfectly, like a two piece puzzle, although it may seem flawed to those around them, it was always just right.

As she came, she practically saw stars. He followed shortly after, and collapsed on top of her. They were both spent, and soon both were sound asleep in her bed, in the pool house, where they had made love so many times before, but nothing held a candle to this. It was more intense, sensual, and passionate, than either had experienced ever before.

Rory awoke a few hours later, after having slept better than she had in years, she rolled over when she felt a form sleeping next to her. A look of panic spread across her face, when she remembered what she had done the night before. This was bad. Very bad. Sliding out of bed ever so gently, wrapping herself in a sheet, she made her way into the bathroom.

What had she done? Why had she slept with Logan? Thinking back, a smile briefly formed on her lips, remembering the sex from the night before.

It wasn't that she hadn't had sex in the last eight years, she wasn't a prude after all, but nothing, nothing could compare to that. Not now, probably not ever. He lived in California though, this was not going to work, he made it clear to her eight years ago that he was not interested in a long distance relationship again, and she couldn't begin to believe that she could recover from the heartbreak of another goodbye, especially not after last night.

She splashed water on her face, and quietly, went back into the bedroom, got dressed, and gathered her things. Looking at his sleeping form, she almost couldn't bring herself to leave, but she knew that the painful goodbye would be far worse than this. She grabbed a piece of paper from the counter, scribbled a quick message on it, laid it on her pillow, took one last look at Logan and walked out the door of the pool house.


	5. Chapter 4

**AN:** Here is the latest chapter! I would really, really, really love some more feedback! Thanks, and enjoy!

Logan woke with a smile on his face, he had slept better than he had in years. He turned to put his arm around Rory, and pull her in, only to find the other side of the bed empty.

His eyes shot open, and he sat up quickly, sending a piece of paper flying. He grabbed for it, and looking at the note, he felt his heart sink.

The note only read "I'm sorry" in Rory's distinct handwriting. He hopped out of bed and ran out into the living area, only to find it empty. Rory was gone. Looking around, Logan realised that the pool house was devoid of any sign that Rory Gilmore had even been here, except for him and his trail of clothes on the floor. He scrambled to find his pants, grabbed his cell phone and called Finn.

No answer. He tried again, and again, and again, until finally Finn picked up the phone.

"Mate, it's six am, someone better be dead or dying for you to wake me up at this ungodly hour." Finn answered.

"Finn I need Rory's number. Now" Logan spoke so fast, he ran all of his words together.

"You haven't seen the lass in eight years, what on earth makes it so important that you need her number now, of all times?"

"I saw her last night."

"And?" Finn questioned.

"I missed the memorial service, but I arrived afterward."

"A lovely service, and a lovely eulogy by reporter girl. But when I didn't see you there, I didn't think you wanted to go anymore." Finn replied.

"Look Finn, enough chit chat, I need her number, NOW." Logan practically yelled at his friend.

"Mate can I call you back in a few hours? We can discuss this then, more rationally, when I am actually awake." Finn responded

"Finn, this is important!"

"If she didn't want to see you last night, what do you think calling her before the sun is even up is going to help you accomplish?" Finn asked.

Logan hesitated, unsure whether or not he should tell him. He paused, took a breath, and decided he needed to get it over with. "Finn, I slept with her last night, in the pool house. When I woke up she was gone."

Finn quickly rattled off the number, and as a goodbye told Logan "go get our girl."

Logan called Rory, no answer.

He quickly scrambled into his clothes from the night before, continuing to try and call her, leaving message after message for her to call him back. There was no point in staying here though, it looked as if she had no intention to return. He took one last look at the pool house, sighed and headed toward his car, note in hand.

After sitting in the car for several minutes he debated what his next plan should be. Heading back to his parents was not going to happen, he didn't want to explain himself to them, having been out all night after having seen Rory. They wouldn't understand, so instead Logan started the car, and headed toward his brownstone in New York.

Arriving in New York a few hours later, still no news from Rory, Logan felt dejected and angry. How could she do this to him? After all they've been through, he couldn't understand it. He had thought last night was something special, that it would bring them back together, not to send her running. How could she, he gave her everything he had, and yet again, she had stomped on his heart, he at least deserved to know why. Why wasn't he good enough for her? What had he done to deserve this? It may have only been 9am, but Logan poured himself a drink, and then another, and another, and after sufficiently attempting to numb the pain for a few hours at least, climbed into his bed.

...

Rory cursed herself silently as she drove down the interstate. She wasn't even fully sure of where she was going until she found herself coming up upon New York. This was perfect, she thought. Millions of people in this city, a perfect way to stay anonymous for a few days until it was time to head back to work. She quickly found herself a hotel and checked in. Plunking down on the bed she finally took her cellphone out, twenty-three missed calls, all from the same number.

Twenty-three missed calls, and twenty-three voicemails, all from Logan Huntzberger, asking her to call him back in a variety of ways. Sitting there, listening to his voice, she felt the tears start to well up again. She deleted the voicemails and headed to the shower where she could cry it out with the hot water hitting her, a cleansing experience she had grown accustomed to on those first few months on the Obama campaign.

Climbing out of the shower, throwing on the complementary robe she sat down on the bed and plucked up the courage to call her mother.

"Good morning offspring"

Rory thanked her luck that clearly, no one had gone to check on her in the pool house yet this morning.

"Mom, hi" Rory said, trying to come up with some explanation for why she was no longer in Hartford.

She couldn't bear to tell her mother about what happened last night with Logan. Lorelai just wouldn't understand. She had never been Logan's biggest fan, and although she had given her blessing, Rory could tell that her mother was relieved when she turned down Logan's proposal.

"Look mom, I'm really sorry. There was an emergency at work, I got called back in." Rory lied.

"Rory you only have a few days left, you're on a leave of absence until Monday." Lorelai grumbled.

"Mom, It's important, I'm sorry!" Rory responded.

"Well why don't you come in the house and tell me about it over some coffee, or I can bring the coffee to you and help you pack."

Rory bit her lip, "well mom, that's the thing. I'm already gone. I got the call a few hours ago, so I got up, packed my things, and headed out. I didn't want to wake anyone up."

"Rory, that's not like you" Lorelai said, shocked at the fact that it happened.

"I know, I'm sorry."

"What aren't you telling me, my child?" Lorelai asked.

"Nothing, really, Mom. I just really had to get going right away."

"This doesn't have anything to do with Logan does it?" Lorelai hadn't seen her daughter since she had spotted him at the reception last night, and was concerned.

"No mom, really, why would you think that?" Rory asked, trying to mask her panic.

"Maybe because, I saw him last night at the at the reception. He disappeared quickly and I didn't see him again, or you for that matter." Lorelai told her.

"No mom, I can assure you that this has nothing to do with Logan. I just couldn't take the reception anymore. Too many people offering condolences, asking questions, I just needed some quiet time. I went back to the pool house, and went to bed."

"Alone?" Lorelai asked.

"Yes alone" Rory cursed her mother for knowing her too well.

"Anyway mom, I am just about to go into a meeting, then I am off on the open road again. I'll call you when I can. Give my love to Grandma and Luke."

Rory hung up the phone before she gave Lorelai the chance to respond, hoping that Lorelai didn't see through all the lies she just told her mother.

She hated herself for lying to her mother, but what else could she do? She wasn't prepared to tell her mother what happened with Logan, she wasn't ready to even think about it herself. After sitting on the edge of the bed in a daze, for almost an hour Rory got up, got dressed, and decided to do what Gilmore's do best. It was time to go out in search of some coffee.


	6. Chapter 5

**AN:** Here's chapter 5! I still seem to be having some issues with uploading and updating. Chapter 4 posted last night, but it didn't seem to update the story again. I just left it posted this time though. I would really really love to hear some feedback though! I have the rest of this story written, but am starting to draft something new as well, I'd love to hear your opinions. Thanks!

 _ **Two days later**_

Logan slid into a booth in a quiet bar in midtown New York looking a little disheveled, and exhausted.

"Look what the cat dragged in" Finn commented. "Could you possibly look any worse?"

Logan sighed, not really having a response to that comment.

"Come on mate, it's only been two days. Maybe she just needs time to process everything." Finn tried to tell him.

"Finn, she left me. Alone in her bed. No sign of her, just a note that says I'm sorry. How am I supposed to respond to that?" Logan was slightly agitated.

Logan continued on "She broke my heart once, when she told me no. Now she's done it again by leaving me after the best night I've had in eight years, with no goodbye, and radio silence. She won't call me back. I've called, and called." Logan rambled on.

He laid his head down on the table. "God I sound pathetic."

"Ok mate, let's step back a few paces. What happened? Start at the beginning." Finn told him.

"I missed the memorial service because I was in California for a business trip. I should have been back in plenty of time, but my flight got delayed because of the storm. Once the flight finally took off, we got re-routed to Boston, so I had to get a rental car, which got a flat on the side of the highway. I had to wait for my father of all people to show up, in the middle nowhere Massachusetts, to get me back to Hartford, and arrange a tow truck to get the rental back to Boston. By the time we got back to Hartford, I had already missed the service."

"I was beginning to think that the universe was telling me to stay away from Rory, now I think it may have been right." Logan told him.

"What did you guys talk about, when you finally saw her?" Finn pushed

"We didn't. I told her that could wait, she was just so sad." Logan replied.

"I found her in the pool house, she was hiding from the crowd. She burst into tears when she looked at me." Logan pressed on.

"Before I knew what was happening, SHE kissed me. All those feelings came flying back, after eight years it was like no time had passed. Finn, it was the best sex I have EVER had. Everything just felt right, then, lying next to her, I had the best sleep I've had in years, and I just start to think that maybe something is finally working out for me, that maybe we can undo all the damage from her graduation day eight years ago, and I wake up to find her gone with nothing but this note left behind." Logan took out the note and laid it on the table in front of him.

Finn looked at him and sighed. "So you're telling me that you discussed nothing? Does she even know that you are back on the east coast for good?"

"Well, I. Oh…" Logan started. "She asked me if I had come here all the way from California, I nodded and told her that she would never believe the whole story and why I missed the memorial service. She was just so sad looking, I didn't want to risk making matters worse."

"After everything that happened, I figured we could discuss it the next morning. And we saw how well that went" Logan finished.

"So let me get this straight." Finn said. "You show up out of the blue, after having no contact for eight years, through some crazy chain of events end up sleeping with her, meanwhile she thinks you flew across the entire country to see her, and will be flying back across the country anytime, only to go back to the way things were."

"Even if I was going back to California, why would she automatically think that things had to go back to the way they were?" Logan looked confused.

"You know, for being a smart guy, you can be pretty thick sometimes mate." Finn responded. "You were the one that told her it was all or nothing eight years ago, that you weren't willing to do the long distance thing again. No offence but now that it's been eight years I think It's time to tell you what a colossal idiot you were that day. She waited for you when your dad sent you to London, she nursed you back to health after the accident in Costa Rica, she stood by you through thick and thin. Meanwhile she was just about to take her first steps into the unknown, and you laid a heavy ultimatum at her feet. Can you blame her for getting freaked out and saying no?"

"She hurt me more than you could ever imagine that day." Logan responded looking a little angry but also guilty. "I realized years ago, I made the biggest mistake of my life by giving her that ultimatum, but she could have said yes, it could have been a long engagement."

"Mate, you walked away that day and didn't bother to look back at how Rory handled things."

"She seemed to handle things just fine, if you ask me." Logan told him.

"Mate, I ran into Rory three months after you broke up. She was at a campaign event in New York. I almost didn't recognize her, she was a shell of the person she used to be. I managed to get her to go grab a cup of coffee, and she spilled her guts to me. How she was heartbroken and homesick, crying herself to sleep every night for weeks. After that I made a point to check in with her once a month to see how she was doing, and anytime she is in New York we try to make time to grab dinner."

Logan looked at Finn with sheer surprise. "I knew you two were still in contact, but I wish you had told me just how much."

"She didn't want you to know mate. She was under the impression you wanted nothing to do with her. She tried calling you, you know. But you had already changed your number. She thought that was the final nail in the coffin."

Logan sighed and leaned back in the booth thinking about what a mess of things he had made.

"Look, just give it some time to let Reporter Girl calm down, next time I'm talking to her I'll try to put in a good word."

Logan half smiled, still feeling dejected. "Thanks man." He got up and headed out of the pub.

Finn sat there for a few minutes more, thought about everything that had happened in the last few days and smiled. He had an idea.

...

At almost the same time, on the other side of the city Jess Mariano walked into a coffee shop where he was supposed to be meeting Rory Gilmore.

He saw her sitting in the corner, aimlessly stirring her latte, and generally not looking herself.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Rory looked up, gave a half wave and motioned for him to sit down.

"Ok what was so important that you couldn't tell me on the phone, that I had to come up all the way from Philadelphia for to discuss in person?"

Before she could answer, a similar latte was put down in front of him, which he eagerly took a sip of, it had been a long day already.

"I slept with Logan."

Jess spit the latte out of his mouth with such force that Rory received a spray.

"Ok hold on, you need to start from the beginning. Where did you even see Logan?" Jess asked, somewhat agitated since he definitely did not like Logan Huntzberger.

"After the memorial service, you were already gone. I couldn't take it anymore, so I slipped out and went back to the pool house. I was sitting in front of the fire, in my pyjamas, with a glass of scotch, drinking alone, when I heard the door open. I thought it was mom." Rory started.

"But it was Logan?" Jess asked.

"Yes, it was Logan. I took one look at him and I burst into tears. Before I knew what was happening he was hugging me and I was bawling my eyes out on his shoulder. He held me until I stopped crying." She paused.

"When I finally calmed down, I told him how I was too late, that I didn't get to say goodbye to Grandpa. I started crying again." Rory continued.

Jess sat there and continued to listen.

"He soothed me and told me everything was going to be alright. It all felt so normal, so comforting, I didn't want to let go. Then he told me he'd missed me. I don't know what came over me, but I got this insane urge to kiss him so I did. Then one thing led to another, and you know… Well.." Rory blushed.

Jess flexed his fist, out of reflex. "Did he push you to?"

Rory cut him off before he could finish that sentence. "No, it was me. I initiated it."

"I hate to admit this, but it was the best sex I have ever had. And then, I slept better than I have in years. But I woke up, saw him lying there and panicked." Rory told him.

"I knew I couldn't get through another painful goodbye, he told me eight years ago, that it was all or nothing. It's been nothing for eight years, I couldn't handle that rejection again. I got up, packed my things and left him there in my bed."

"So you're telling me, a guy flew across the entire country to make sure you were ok, even though you haven't heard from him in almost a decade, he comforts you, you kiss him, then sleep with him, and leave without saying anything?" Jess asked.

"Well… I left him a note…" Rory looked half embarrassed again.

"Rory, what did the note say?" Jess asked.

Rory stalled looking very interested in her latte all of a sudden.

"Rory…"

"I'M SORRY" Rory raised her voice.

Jess looked up confused.

"The note said I'm sorry." Rory told him.

"We'll do you really want my opinion?" Jess asked.

Rory nodded looking glum.

"You know I don't like Logan, he was a dick to you giving you that ultimatum. But Rory, use that brain of yours. A guy walks back into your life after eight years of no contact, flying across the entire country to do so. Just to make sure that you are ok. Does that really sound like someone who wants nothing?"

Rory sighed. Jess was probably right, but she was leaving tonight for her next assignment and didn't want any drama clouding her judgement. She knew that when she and Logan spoke there would be words, and she wasn't ready to deal with that. Not yet. She had to get going, she gave Jess a hug and headed out the door.

As she was walking down the sidewalk her phone rang. The caller ID indicated that it was Finn. Knowing that he had probably been speaking with Logan, she pressed decline. She couldn't deal with that. Not right now.


	7. Chapter 6

_**Six months later…**_

The last six months had been status quo for Logan Huntzberger. He had thrown himself back into his work, life was almost exactly the same as it had been in California. He would get to the office before the sun was up most mornings, and would leave long after the sun had set.

His brownstone was still full of boxes, working six days a week would do that to anyone. He didn't care though, he was trying so hard to not focus on his personal life.

After a few weeks of silence, he had given up hope that he would hear from Rory. Not that he should be surprised, after eight years of silence, what should he expect? Now, six months had passed, and he had tried to put that night behind him. He had done his due diligence in trying to contact her, she refused. That was enough for him.

Recently, he had attempted to go on a series of what can only be described as terrible dates. None of the women were remotely interesting, set ups from his mother, society approved, but lacking any sort of semblance of a real personality.

It was yet another late night in the office. His desk phone rang suddenly, snapping himself out of his daze.

"Huntzberger"

"Logan!" Finn practically shouted.

Logan could barely hear him over the sound of chaos in the background.

"What's going on buddy?" Logan asked.

"You'll never believe how amazing the lady I just found is."

Logan's heart skipped a beat, thinking that Finn had finally heard from Rory. Quickly though, Logan shook his head, this craziness had to end.

"I don't want to see her. Not anymore." Logan said gripping the phone tight.

"Mate, no offence, but I don't really care. I'm bringing her back to my apartment. What a knockout, red hair down to her hips."

Logan realized quickly that Finn was drunk and sharing his excitement about his latest exploit.

"You go have fun, Finn, I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Wait. Logan, there's a reason I called. I want to get together with you. How's Friday sound?"

Logan flipped to his calendar, a fruitless effort, he knew it was empty. "Yeah Finn, Friday sounds good. I'll see you then. And Finn? Go have fun."

Logan hung up the phone.

 _Somewhere up town, Finn hung up the phone, smiled, put his arm around a gorgeous redhead, and led her out of the bar._

"I need a life." Logan sighed to himself. He stood, looked at the clock, decided it was time to leave the office and went to flag a cab.

...

It was Friday evening and Rory looked at her watch, she was running late. She only arrived back in the city this morning, for the first time in six months. It was an eight year tradition that she would grab dinner with Finn, any time she was in New York, but she was regretting this particular dinner, she had tried avoiding the crazy Australian, ever since her ill-fated night with Logan six months ago.

Finn was as persistent as ever, and she knew she couldn't avoid his calls for the rest of her life. He was her friend after all, and she didn't want to lose that.

What struck her as odd was that Finn wanted her to come over for dinner at his place, they usually met at a restaurant, but whatever, she was hungry, and the promise of copious amounts of coffee was enticing her.

After arriving at his building, she was greeted by a doorman.

"Excuse me miss, to where can I direct you?" The doorman asked.

"I'm here to see Finn Walker" Rory explained.

"Right this way miss." The doorman put Rory into the elevator, turned a key, and pushed the button for the penthouse.

The elevator doors opened, and Rory stepped into one of the most beautiful apartments she had ever seen. It was almost enough to take her breath away. As she stepped out into the apartment, she did lose her breath, but for an entirely different reason. There standing across the room, looking at Finn's liquor cabinet was none other than Logan.

She started to back away, hoping she could get back to the elevator before he would notice her.

"Finn.." Logan said picking up a bottle from the liquor cabinet. "I had no idea you were holding out on me, we need to drink this, tonight."

Logan turned around, the bottle sliding from his hands, crashing to the floor, splintered glass and scotch splashed all around his feet.

Just then the elevator dinged again, Finn stepped out.

"Good. You're both here"

Rory and Logan both looked at Finn incredulously.

"You both need to talk, and you are both too stubborn to see it. It took six months to get you into the same city, and you aren't going to be leaving this apartment until you work it out.

Finn stepped back into the elevator gave them a smile, and headed back downstairs. Since a key was needed to call the elevator to the penthouse, they were stuck.

"So..." Rory said.

"So…" Logan responded.

"Hi?" Rory told him.

"That's all you have to say?" Logan asked.

"What do you want me to say?" Rory mumbled.

"How about you start with why you left me in the middle of the night, after having sex, that you initiated I might add, after not seeing each other for eight years."

Rory looked at her feet. "Logan, I'm sorry… I just. I wasn't myself. I was hurting, I missed you, I'll admit that, but it was just a spur of the moment thing."

"Is that all I'm worth to you? A spur of the moment thing?" Logan asked.

"No… it's just… you're in California. I'm all over the place. We haven't seen each other in eight years, you told me it was all or nothing, I thought that was pretty clear." Rory had started to ramble.

"Rory" Logan started.

She ignored him and continued, "Look it was really amazing of you to fly all that way, but we tried, we failed, we were in different parts of our lives.

"Rory" Logan tried again.

Still not noticing he was trying to speak, she was about to start on a new sentence when she finally heard him yell "RORY."

"What?" She yelled back.

"I'm not in California." he told her.

"What do you mean you aren't in California?" she asked puzzled.

"I moved back to New York almost 10 months ago." Logan said.

Rory quickly did the math in her head, and realized he had been back on the east coast around the time her grandfather died.

"But then, why did you tell me you flew all the way from California?" she asked.

"I did. My company is still based out of Palo Alto, but we opened up a New York office. I got tasked with heading it up. I was on my way back from a trip to the west coast office, when I got delayed by the storm. I tried as hard as I could to get back in time for Richard's memorial service." Logan explained.

"You did?" she asked. "But why?"

"Don't you think that it's obvious?"

She walked over to the couch and plunked down.

"Logan, you ended things with me." she was willing herself to not cry.

"Rory… why did you leave me in the middle of the night?" Logan pressed again.

"Logan.. Why did you give me an all or nothing ultimatum?" Rory tried to avoid his question.

"I made a mistake! Ok does that make you happy? I made the worst mistake of my life when I walked away that day. Happy? I've been miserable for the last eight years. It took me a long time to realize that, but I should never have sprung that decision on you. I had just convinced myself that you would say yes" Logan raised his voice.

"I wanted to say yes, but I just needed time" Rory shot back. "I was just graduating college, I hadn't even taken one unknown step into the world yet. I needed some time to explore, I had hoped we could explore together, but you shot that idea down pretty damn quick.

"We hadn't even talked about marriage, not even once. Agreeing to factor each other into each other's decisions, seemed like a normal next step. But you didn't factor me in, you planned everything for me without checking with me first. How was I supposed to react to that? I had no idea you had jumped from factoring me in, to getting married in such a short span of time. Can you blame me for freaking out a little?" Rory said, all in one breath.

The tears were spilling over now, but Logan was still standing in the mess of glass and scotch, refusing to even look at her.

"Rory, I need to know. Why did you leave me in the middle of the night?" Logan asked a third time.

"Because I was afraid if I stayed, you would go back to California and break my heart again. There! Happy? Is that what you wanted to hear?"

Logan looked at her properly for the first time since dropping the bottle of scotch.

"Why would you think I would break your heart again? Logan questioned, turning and walking toward the couch.

Rory looked away, and mumbled. So low he almost didn't hear her. "Because part of me still loves you."

Logan's heart soared. He couldn't believe the words that were coming out of her mouth.

She continued, more firmly this time. "When you left me eight years ago, I was a mess. I left for the Obama campaign, and tried to push my feelings aside, but I was heartbroken and homesick. I cried myself to sleep for weeks. I alienated myself from the other reporters, I barely ate. I threw myself into my writing. It wasn't healthy." She looked at her hands while she spoke.

"I tried, I really did. To move on. You know. But I'm never in any place for more than a few weeks. No one really ever compared." Rory looked up at Logan, her eyes swimming with tears.

"God my life is such a mess. She said wiping at her eyes. "I hate my job. This isn't what I expected, what I had planned. I was sitting in a diner watching some slob stuff sweet potatoes in his face when I got the call about grandpa. This is where my life ended up, the great Rory Gilmore, writing an article about eating sweet potatoes. Maybe your dad was right."

"Rory Gilmore. Don't you dare say that for one second. I've followed your work right from the start. Every article. Christ, I even have a google alert set-up to let me know anytime your name comes up somewhere online. You are a fantastic writer, probably the best I know, but you've lost your spark Ace. That fiery ace reporter passion has been missing for the last few years. You don't sound like you." Logan told her.

Rory snorted. "You can thank articles like the sweet potato for that."

They sat in silence for a few minutes.

"I tried to call you. You know? A few weeks into the campaign. But you changed your number." she said.

Logan silently cursed himself.

"I told myself then, it was really over." Rory started to tear up again.

Logan instinctively reached out and grabbed her hand.

She looked up at him and tentatively smiled.

Taking a breath, she asked again. "Why did you come see me that night?"

Logan sighed. "Rory, I tried to push the thought of you out of my life every day for the last eight years. When Finn called me to tell me about Richard, I tried to jump on a plane that night. He talked me out of it. It was a gut reaction, I knew you would be devastated, I remember how you felt after his last heart attack. I let my guard down, let the emotion I was suppressing seep through. I decided to let you be, but I knew I had to come and express my condolences, and see how you were doing."

"When you looked at me and burst into tears, every ounce of resolve I had went out the window. And then you kissed me." Logan paused almost hesitant to tell her the next part.

"Rory… That was the best night of my life. I just wish it were under better circumstances." Logan told her, looking into her eyes.

Rory shifted uncomfortably, and Logan's smile fell.

"Logan… I… Uh…" Rory faltered, not knowing exactly what to say.

He withdrew his hand, and looked into his lap. "It's ok Rory, I'll leave you be."

"Logan! Wait." She reached out and grabbed his hand.

"I don't know what this is, not anymore. But it's clear we have unresolved feelings for each other still." She continued.

"I'm still all over the place for work, I'm supposed to go to Virginia on Monday for a week. You were clear that you don't want a long distance relationship."

"Rory"

"I get that, Logan, I really do. But I don't think I can give up talking to you completely. Not again."

"Rory, would you please listen for just a second?" Logan interrupted her.

"I can't let you go, not again. I don't know where this is going, but shouldn't we see? We've got this whole weekend, we can try and figure out what this is. You can come stay with me, spend the weekend together." Logan told her.

Rory bit her lip. "Logan, I don't know if that's the best idea. The staying with you, I mean. I think you're right, we need to figure this out. But I think it would be best if I stayed at my hotel."

"Now. Can you please call Finn and ask him to let us out of here? I'm starved, Finn promised me coffee and food and obviously neither of them are here. I need to eat." Rory told him.

Logan smiled "I'm sure we can take care of that." picked up the phone and called Finn.

As they waited for the crazy Australian to return, Logan sighed. "He's going to kill me for dropping that bottle of scotch. It's worth $100,000."


	8. Chapter 7

**AN:** Hi everyone! Here is the latest chapter! Only a few more chapters to go before this wraps up. I'm currently working on my next story, but it may be a few weeks before I'm ready to start posting it. In the mean time, to fight the writer's block I ended up writing a one shot called "Swiping Right". I'd really appreciate if you could take a read and let me know what you think of that too! Thanks!

Logan Huntzberger woke the next morning with excitement. After Finn finally freed them from his apartment, they grabbed a quick dinner at a restaurant near Rory's hotel. By the time he arrived home, it was nearly midnight, but Logan was too wired to sleep. He couldn't believe the night's events. He knew he had to make tomorrow special he just wasn't sure how. After mulling it over for a while he had an idea and set to work.

After only a few hours of sleep, Logan groggily pulled himself out of bed, showered and was ready to go in about twenty minutes. Thankful for being in New York, where he could find 24 hour groceries in every neighbourhood, the plan was set for the day. He took one last look at his place, and smiled, heading outside and hailing a cab to go meet Rory.

About 30 blocks away, Rory was getting ready, a little unsure of what to expect. Logan wouldn't tell her anything, other than to be ready at 8am. She had told him "you better bring coffee mister."

At 8:05 her cell phone rang, it was Logan. He was in the lobby. She made her way downstairs, and her eyes went wide when she saw him.

He was holding two cups of coffee, a normal sized one that he was sipping, and in his other hand, he held, the largest cup of coffee that she had ever seen.

"Logan Huntzberger I think I love you" Rory said as he passed her the cup of coffee, instantly blushing, when she realized what had come out of her mouth.

"Well, I am pretty loveable." Logan chuckled with a big smile on his face.

"Come on Ace, Coffee is serious business to a Gilmore, and I promised you a day to remember. I thought you should have a coffee to remember too. Let's go or we're going to be late for our first stop."

"And where might that first stop be?" She inquired.

"You'll find out when you get there." He told her, "come on keep up, or we're going to be late."

"Huntzberger, in case you have forgotten in the last eight years, Gilmore's do not run."

Logan smiled, took her hand and and said "Come on Ace."

Their first stop, it turned out, was the Central Park Zoo. "It's a little cliche, Ace, but it's fun" he told her and so, they spent the next few hours exploring the zoo, and then Central Park.

Their second stop was to the Museum of Natural History, it turned out that neither had ever been, and they found themselves lost for hours in the exhibits.

By this point it was early afternoon, and Rory's stomach began to rumble. Their next stop as it turned out, was for food, but Logan cautioned her not to eat too much, they had more food plans for later.

"Logan, when have you ever seen me have difficulty eating something?" Rory asked.

"Fair point Ace, order whatever you want." He replied.

They were in this little hole in the wall restaurant that Logan promised her would have the best taco's she had ever tasted.

Half an hour later, and feeling sufficiently nourished, Rory had to agree with Logan on the taco's. "I'm going to need to tell my mom about this place." She told him as they headed out of the restaurant.

"How is Lorelai, anyway?" Logan asked.

"She's good" Rory told him.

"She and Luke got back together right around the time that, well, we broke up. They got engaged about six years ago, but have no plans to make anything more permanent. He's living at the house now, though Mom has been dividing a lot of her time between Stars Hollow, and Hartford. Grandma is still having a pretty hard time."

Logan nodded, understanding, as they continued their walk to the next destination. Before, she knew it, they had stopped in the middle of the sidewalk.

"We're here" he told her.

"Where are we?" She asked.

"Turn around and take a look" he said.

Turning around slowly, Rory realized that she was standing outside quite possible the largest used bookstore she had ever seen. She grabbed his hand in excitement, and squeezed, maybe even a little harder than she intended, and dragged him into the store.

An hour and countless piles of books later, she finally was satisfied with her choices. She had no idea how she was going to carry them all, but she couldn't whittle the pile down any more. When she arrived at the cash register, Logan pulled out his credit card.

"Logan, no! I can't let you buy these for me." Rory insisted.

"Ace, I told you that this would be a day you would never forget, that means everything is my treat."

He turned to the cashier, and asked him. "Would it be possible to get these packed up and shipped? I'll pay extra."

The clerk nodded, and Logan turned to Rory. "Where do you want these to go?"

"Umm… Stars Hollow is probably the best place. I don't actually have a place of my own, I'm on the road too much. I usually just crash at mom's when I have a few days off." She turned to the cashier and rattled off the address.

"Can I take, just this one with me now?" she indicated to the cashier. "No, two" she grabbed another and Logan laughed.

"Ok Rory, you must be dying for another cup of coffee." He hailed a cab as they stepped out of the store.

She nodded, as they climbed into the cab and headed toward Logan's neighbourhood.

The coffee shop was a block from Logan's brownstone. They went in, Rory found a table and Logan went to order their drinks.

When he returned, Rory looked at him and said "so tell me about California"

"There's not much to tell. Honestly, I spent most of my time at work" he told her.

"And the house with the avocado tree?" she asked.

"Never happened… Not without you."

"There must be more to your story than that… You were there for eight years." Rory responded trying to change the subject.

"There was someone" Logan told her, leaving it at that.

"What happened?" Rory asked.

"To be honest, she wasn't you."

Rory tried to hide her smile, but failed.

"Her name was Elizabeth, we dated for four years. I always kept her at arm's length though. When I knew that the New York office was going to happen, I used that as my out. She thought I was going to ask her to come with me, to marry her, but I never saw a future for us."

Rory looked uncomfortable.

"Enough about that though, this is supposed to be a happy day, let's not dwell on that. Come on, it's time to prepare for our last event of the day."

Rory looked at him curiously.

As they arrived at his brownstone, Rory smiled.

"Logan, this place is amazing!" Rory told him.

As they entered the house she was delighted to discover that his kitchen was covered in all her favourite snack foods.

"I thought there would be nothing better than to end this day than with a good old fashioned Gilmore movie night." he told her.

There was a pile of DVD's stacked next to his newly assembled TV. On the coffee table were a pile of take-out menus, pizza, and chinese food to name a few.

"Pick whatever you want, and we will order it." Logan told her.

"I've got some old sweats from our Yale days, if you would like to wear something more comfortable." He told her.

Rory nodded and went into the bathroom to change.

An hour later, with their chinese food in hand, they settled in to start their movies.

Ten minutes into the third movie, Rory had fallen asleep on the couch. Logan grabbed a blanket, covered her with it, turned off the movie, kissed her on the forehead and climbed into the armchair and promptly fell asleep himself.

...

Rory awoke with a kink in her neck a few hours later. Disoriented at first, she panicked a little. When she sat up and saw Logan sleeping in the chair next to the couch, she smiled, thinking abou the day's events and settled back into the couch and promptly fell back to sleep.

The next thing she knew, she awoke to the smell of coffee brewing, and the sound of bacon sizzling in the frying pan. She got up off the couch and walked out to the kitchen.

"Good morning Ace, I hope you slept ok." Logan greeted her. "Coffee?" He asked.

"Yes, please" she responded.

Soon she had a steaming plate of bacon and eggs in front of her which she dug into eagerly.

"Logan, this is fantastic!" She said in between bites.

He shrugged. "It's only bacon and eggs."

"Logan, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to put you out, I fully intended on going back to my hotel last night." Rory told him.

"Nonsense Ace, last night was great. It felt so normal, so natural. So us. Yesterday was the most fun I've had in a long time." He told her.

"So what's the plan for today?" She asked.

"To be honest, I was hoping we could lay low here. Just spend time getting to know each other again. After all, it's been eight years." He told her.

Rory nodded in agreement and they spent the day discussing their lives, their careers and everything in between. Before they realized it, it was getting late, nearly 8pm and Rory had an early start for Virginia. It was time to say goodbye.

"Off to Virginia to do a story about the Virginia Lake festival." She snorted "If they wanted a story about a festival, I don't know why they didn't just let me go to Stars Hollow. There's a new festival there practically every week." She laughed, but looked sad.

She looked at Logan and asked "so what is this? Where do we go from here?"

"Rory, I'm not willing to let you out of my life again, not without a fight. I think we need to give this another shot. Please tell me you agree."

Rory nodded "I think we need to take this slow though. I don't know how long it'll be before I can make it back to New York."

Logan smiled, "Anything. For you. I can always come visit you somewhere too. Now, can I please give you a goodbye kiss?"

Rory leaned in and kissed Logan, it was a chaste kiss, but it was definitely a kiss full of promise.

She broke the kiss, stepped back and promised that she would call Logan soon.

As she stepped out onto the street, it was a beautiful July evening. She needed some time to process everything, so even though it was 30 blocks, she started back to her hotel on foot.

She knew what needed to come next, and which made her more nervous than she had been about meeting with Logan in the first place. Pulling her cell phone out of her purse she called her mother and told her everything.


	9. Chapter 8

**AN:** Thank-you again to all my lovely reviewers! You are all so wonderful and I really appreciate the feedback! I hope you enjoy! This chapter is a little short, but it's tomorrows post that has earned this story an M rating. Let me know what you think!

 _ **Three weeks later**_

Logan was pretty sure that the last three weeks were the longest three weeks of his entire life. He still had two more weeks to go, before he was able to see Rory again.

She had called, shortly after arriving in Virginia and had told him that it didn't look like she would be back in New York until the end of September at the earliest. Since it was only mid July, they had decided to compare schedules to see when Logan might be able to come to her. They had settled on a day in Nebraska two weeks from now.

Although they had been talking on the phone almost every night, he missed her, more than he thought possible. They had been apart so long, that now that she was back in his life, he didn't want to waste any time. They had already lost eight years, he told himself, they couldn't afford to lose any more.

It was almost 11pm, the scheduled time for their nightly phone call, and Logan was anxiously awaiting the phone to ring. When it finally did, he answered with excitement.

"Logan, I've got bad news." She started off without even a hello.

"What is it?" He asked, suddenly worried.

"It's about Nebraska" she told him. "They're taking me off that story, sending me to Florida instead."

"Even better Ace" Logan told her. "We can spend a day soaking up the sun."

"Logan, I don't have that day off anymore."

"Oh" was all Logan was able to say, the disappointment seeping through the phone.

"I'm really sorry." Rory told him.

"It's ok Ace, there'll be other times, other places we can meet. When's your next down day?" He asked.

Rory sighed, "In about a month."

"A month?" Logan sounded slightly exasperated. "Where?"

"Chicago" she told him.

"I hate this so much" she sighed. "I'm so sick of living out of a suitcase." She said.

"Rory, you know there's plenty of papers here in the city. You could consider applying to some of them." Logan mentioned.

"None of them are hiring!" She said, practically on the verge of tears.

"You're forgetting one thing Ace, you have Huntzberger connections." Logan smiled.

"Logan, I am not using any Huntzberger connections to get a job. I want to be hired on my own merits, not because of who I am kind of dating."

"Kind of dating?" Logan asked defensively.

"Logan, you know I didn't mean it like that. It's just, we're just starting to explore this again, and other than that one weekend, we haven't even been in the same state." She said, the tears were definitely flowing now.

"Plus, are you really ready to tell your parents about us?" She asked.

"Rory, I'm ready to shout from the rooftops about us, in fact I can go do that right now if you'd like."

Rory chuckled. "Logan, no. That's ok. Look I've gotta go. I need to finish this article on the best trout fishing in Montana. I'll talk to you soon ok?"

"Look, can't we talk for a few more minutes?" he asked her. "Tell me about your day."

"My day" Rory scoffed. "My day was certainly not exciting. I got eaten alive by bugs as I watched people fish for trout."

Logan laughed, trying to imagine Rory standing next to a lake, looking annoyed."

"Well tell me Ace. Did you at least try fishing?"

"No." She told him.

"Ouch Ace, did I teach you nothing? What happened to the great ace reporter getting into the thick of it? You jumped off a tower with me, in formal wear I might add. All for the sake of a story."

"That was different." She told him.

"How was that different?" He asked.

"That was with you coaxing me, telling me to live a little. You convinced me to do it, because of your passion. You are very good with words you know."

"But you did it Ace. You faced your fears, you jumped. That's the spark that's been missing from your writing. You need to jump." He told her.

"Writing about trout does not come close to writing about that day, that adventure." She told him.

"Look Rory, you just need to find your angle. Try it. Throw yourself all in. Jump." Logan told her.

Rory sighed, her frustrations of the day still present.

"You know Ace, it was then, when I grabbed your hand and leapt off that tower, that I started to fall for you." Logan told her.

"I almost kissed you then and there." Logan continued.

Rory smiled at the memory. "You know Logan, I wanted you to kiss me that day. I hated myself for it, I had a boyfriend. But looking at you, thinking about what we had just done. That was a connection unlike any other."

"Well you know Ace, I could round up a few members of the Life and Death Brigade, kidnap you for a few hours and recreate it. You know, for the sake of getting your spark back." Logan laughed.

"Just for the sake of that? Or do you have any ulterior motives mister?" She laughed.

"Look Logan, I'm sorry. I really need to go finish this article now." Rory told him.

"I miss you Ace." He told her.

"I miss you too Logan. Goodnight."

Logan hung up the phone and sighed. This situation was really starting to get to him.

...

The next morning Rory woke up with a smile. She had been dreaming about the day she spent with the Life and Death Brigade. They had just landed from the jump and Logan was about to kiss her, just as her alarm clock went off. She cursed, "foiled by my alarm clock." She sighed.

Climbing out of bed she brewed a cup of bad motel coffee as she packed her things, getting ready to head off to her next story- something about something else she didn't care about in Wisconsin.

As she was getting ready to go check out, her cell phone rang. Looking at the caller ID she saw that it was her boss. Sighing, she answered the phone.

"Gilmore!"

"Hi Jerry" Rory said trying to be enthusiastic.

"How do you feel about Alaska?" Jerry asked

"Ok I guess?" Rory answered. "Why?"

"Excellent! Change of plans Gilmore. I want you to fly up to Alaska and spend the next month learning about surviving in the wilds of the north. I'm trying to finagle an interview with Sarah Palin while you are up there. Maybe she can take you hunting." Jerry told her excitedly.

"What about Wisconsin, and New Mexico, and Florida?" She asked.

"Pish posh, this Alaska story is way more interesting." Jerry told her.

"Jerry, I'm really not an outdoorsy kind of girl." Rory told him

"That's the best part Gilmore! You can write about all the trials and tribulations of living in the bush for a month. No electricity, no indoor plumbing. It'll be great!"

Rory sighed. A month in Alaska? No electricity? No indoor plumbing? She wasn't sure how much more of this she could take. How would she make her coffee? She thought back to last night's conversation with Logan, encouraging her to jump, she decided to follow his advice. She smiled.

"Jerry. No." She said.

"What do you mean, no?" He asked.

"I mean, I don't want to go to Alaska." She said.

"Gilmore, this story has promise. Much more promise than Wisconsin, New Mexico, or Florida."

"I don't want to go to Wisconsin. Or New Mexico. Or Florida." Rory said with more confidence this she had displayed in years.

"What are you saying, Gilmore?" Jerry asked.

"I'm done" she told him. "I'm sick of living out of a suitcase, writing articles that I don't care about, in places I don't want to be."

"I quit." Rory said, resolutely.

"Gilmore, you're going to regret this." Jerry told her.

"You know Jerry, I really don't think I will. Thank you for the opportunity, it just isn't for me. Not anymore. I need my writing to bring me joy. I lost the joy a long time ago. It's time I found it again."

"Gilmore…"

"Bye Jerry."

Rory hung up before he could say anything else.

She sighed. "I can't believe I just did that." She said to herself.

Throwing her luggage in the trunk of her rental car, she knew what she had to do.

A few hours, several cups of coffee, and a long phone call with her mother later, Rory smiled as she buckled her seatbelt and waited for the plane to take off.


	10. Chapter 9

**AN:** Hi everyone! Only one chapter plus the epilogue left after this. I can't believe how fast going through this story has been. I really hope you are enjoying it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I am working on another so far untitled story, but it will probably be a few weeks before I am ready to start posting it. This post is the reason that this story has an M rating, please let me know what you think!

Logan couldn't remember another time it had rained this hard. His power was out and he was sitting at his kitchen table reading the New York Times debating how badly he wanted a cup of coffee, not really willing to venture out in this weather. It was mid afternoon, but the sky was so dark, it could easily be mistaken for the early evening.

He had tried calling Rory but her phone was off. She must still be on the plane, he thought. He was half tempted to call his secretary and tell her he was taking a few days off, to fly to Wisconsin and surprise Rory, but he had that big meeting coming up on Tuesday, as much as he hated it, he had to stay put.

He was startled out of his daze by a frantic sounding pounding on his door. He thought it must be Finn, or Colin. They had been trying to get him out for three weeks, to get him to spill on his weekend with Rory, but he continued to rebuff them on the phone. Maybe they had decided to try a more direct approach.

"I'm coming." Logan yelled. "Calm down."

The frantic pounding continued.

He opened the door and his eyes went wide with shock. It wasn't Colin or Finn. Rory was standing on his doorstep.

She was soaked to the skin, her hair stringy and dripping.

"Rory, come in, you're soaked." Logan said.

Rory just continued to stand there. "I quit." She told him.

"I did what you said. I jumped." She continued.

Logan stepped out onto the stoop and wrapped her in his arms and kissed her, refusing to let go. The rain continued to pour on both of them, but neither seemed to notice. They were too wrapped up in their embrace.

They finally broke the kiss, and Logan rested his forehead on Rory's. "Come on in Ace. You're shaking. You're soaked and freezing."

Logan took Rory by the hand and led her into the house.

"Let's get you into something warm and dry Ace."

Rory nodded, and went to grab something from her suitcase.

Logan told her no, and went to grab her a pair of his sweats, and a blanket instead. She went into the washroom and changed, and came out, surprised to see that Logan was still wearing the wet clothes from their impromptu make out session on his front stoop.

"Logan, you're still soaked. You need to change." Rory told him, thumbing at the hem of his wet shirt.

Logan said "I know, I just wanted to hear what happened first."

"What happened can wait." She told him and helped him take off his shirt.

"We need to get you out of these wet clothes."

She reached, thumbing at the waist of this sweat pants, and leaned back in for another kiss.

"We do, do we?" Logan asked already feeling blood rush to his member, as Rory helped him step out of the pants.

"Well miss Gilmore, I believe that you are at an unfair advantage in warmth as you are fully clothed, and I am standing here not wearing a stitch." Logan said between kisses on her neck.

"Well you know, they say the best way to warm someone up, is by skin on skin contact." She smiled.

Logan took that as his cue to undress her, and slowly explore her body.

He started by continuing to kiss her neck, and led a trail of kisses down her collarbone.

Taking her breasts, one in each hand, Logan took turns taking each nipple into his mouth, teasing with his teeth and sucking, just hard enough to get her moaning with pleasure.

The stumbled and found their way to his couch, and he continued the trail of kisses finding his way to between her legs.

Rory was moaning harder now, as she began to move her body and grind it into Logan's face as he continued to tease her with his tongue. She got rougher and rougher the closer to climax she got, soon bucking her hips as Logan swirled his tongue around her clit. As her climax came, she continued bucking her hips, riding out the sensation for every last second, enjoying this moment, with him.

As she came down from that post orgasm high, she pulled Logan back up to kiss her. Flipping him onto the couch, she started her own trail of kisses down his stomach before taking his cock into her mouth. Massaging his balls as she continued to pleasure him, she looked up, and watched his reactions as she pushed him closer and closer to an orgasm of his own.

"Ace wait." Logan told her, pulling her back up to eye level, kissing her hard, and finally, entering her with his member. They continued and moved together, a rhythm unto their own, like clockwork, two cogs working together to power one clock. Together, they were that clock, Rory and Logan. They were one. They came together, the climax shared, pulling each other closer than they thought possible, moving together, until they were spent.

Sometime later, laying on the couch, wrapped in the blanket, Logan finally said, "tell me about it."

Rory sighed."I'd finally had enough."

"Jerry called me this morning and tried to change my schedule again. He wanted me to leave right away for a month in Alaska." Rory told him.

"Ouch" Logan said. "Though I'm sure Alaska would be pretty cool."

Rory snorted. "You don't know the half it. He wanted me to live in the Alaskan bush for a month. No electricity, no indoor plumbing, a hunting date with Sarah Palin.

Logan couldn't stop laughing, "you couldn't survive one day in the Alaskan bush Ace. Not without your precious coffee."

"I know. Right?" She responded.

"As I sat there, listening to Jerry go on and on about how great the Alaska story would be, I thought back to our conversation from last night. You made me think back to a time when my writing meant something to me. Writing hasn't brought me joy, or excitement in a long time. You encouraged me to do what I needed to do, to get that spark, you told me to jump."

"I realized when I was on the phone with Jerry, that this time, jumping meant me quitting my job. Jumping into the unknown. Finding me again."

Logan smiled. "Ace, you sound happier today, than you have since we reconnected."

Rory lifted her head off his chest and nodded.

"I am. I really am." She smiled.

"Though, Now that I'm fully into the unknown, it's kind of scary." She told him.

"What am I going to do?" She asked. "My job didn't exactly allow me to bank very much for life savings." She sighed.

"Don't worry about it Rory. You've got me. We can figure this out together." Logan told her.

She smiled and said "You jump, I jump, Jack."

Logan smiled, kissed her, rolled over, and there on the couch, they went for round two.

...

 _ **Two months later**_

Rory sat nervously in the office of the New York Times, waiting for her interview.

They had posted an ad looking for a writer, for a weekly column. Logan had offered to make a call, but Rory had refused, wanting to try this on her own.

In preparation, she wrote several pieces on life in Stars Hollow, referencing many of the crazy antics she witnessed as a teenager in that small town. She had submitted the articles as a part of a portfolio a week ago, and yesterday received a call asking for her to come in to interview.

Staring at her feet, she quietly thumbed the hem of her skirt, picking at a loose string. She was trying to keep herself calm, but this was the New York Times! This was her dream!"

"Miss Gilmore, Mr. Davies will see you now." The secretary told her.

Rory took a deep breath, stood and smoothed the wrinkles out of her skirt, and followed the secretary into the office.

"Rory Gilmore. It's a pleasure to meet you. Jonathan Davies." He said and stuck out his hand.

Rory shook his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you too."

"Sit. Please." Jonathan told her.

"So, Miss Gilmore. You certainly had some interesting stories you submitted as part of your portfolio."

"Please, call me Rory." She said.

"And yes, Stars Hollow, is really nothing short of interesting." She laughed.

"I noticed that your portfolio mostly consists of unpublished pieces, and pieces that are a few years old. I see that you were working up until two months ago. Why didn't you include any of that?" Jonathan asked her.

Rory took a deep breath. "To be completely honest, I lost my spark. I went through a period where I lost my motivation. I spent the last eight and a half years living out of a suitcase, and the last few years writing obscure articles that no one was reading. After I finished my work on the Obama campaign, It was tough to maintain a job with the state of our economy. Any job offer I had, dried up. I did what I could to get by, but that's all I was doing. Getting by. Two months ago, I decided I needed to do what was best for me, as scary as that was. I needed to step into the unknown. I needed to jump, take a leap of faith so to speak."

"Rory Gilmore, that is probably one of the most honest answers I have ever heard." Jonathan smiled at her.

"I have to know though." He said.

"All of those things in Stars Hollow. How many of them are real, and how many are fiction?"

"Sir, I can guarantee that each of those stories actually happened." Rory responded.

"Even the traffic cam?" He asked, incredulously.

"Even the traffic cam." She said.

"And are there more stories, like these?"

Rory laughed. "There are enough stories to fill a book. Maybe several books."

"Well, Rory. I'd like to hear those stories."

Rory felt her hopes raise.

Jonathan continued. "I think our readers would like to read those stores too."

Rory grinned from ear to ear.

"You know, this probably doesn't pay as much as you might expect." Jonathan told her.

"Mr. Davies, my dream since I was a child was to become a journalist and work for the New York Times. You could pay me in pennies and I wouldn't complain."

"Well Rory, you can rest assured, we will not be paying you in pennies. Jonathan laughed.

Rory sat in Jonathan's office for the next hour, working out the details of pay, deadlines, expectations, and additional writing opportunities.

By the time she left the office she was practically floating. She was barely outside before she tried to start making phone calls.

First to Logan, no answer. He must still be in a meeting she thought.

Then to her mother, again no answer. She tried the Dragonfly and Michel informed her that her mother was not in.

That's weird, Rory thought.

Since those were the two people she wanted to tell the most, she held off on the other phone calls for now, and with a spring in her step flagged a cab, back to Logan's brownstone where she had taken up residence since she turned up on his doorstep in the pouring rain two months ago.

As she walked in the front door and dropped her keys, she thought she heard a rustling sound, and a giggle but she shrugged it off, thinking she had imagined it.

Stepping into the living room, she was given quite the shock. A huge banner read congratulations Rory, and all of her loved ones were standing around waiting to greet her.

"Wait. What? How?" Rory said.

Logan came up and pulled her into a hug and kissed her on the temple.

"Let's face it Ace. You were a shoe in for that job. You deserved it and we all knew it."

Rory smiled and finally looked around. Her mother and Luke were here. April who was studying at NYU sat in the corner. She saw her grandmother, Lane and Zack, Sookie, Jess, Paris and Doyle, Finn and Colin were standing by the bar. Even Honor, Josh, and their two kids were in tow.

"Wow. Guys. Thanks. This is amazing!" Rory said.

She squeezed Logan's hand and whispered, "thank you Logan. For everything."

The rest of the evening was spent toasting, laughing, and storytelling, everyone had come together, and everyone genuinely seemed to be having a good time.

At one point, Jess pulled Rory aside. "Look Rory, I'm going to be honest. I had a pretty low opinion of Logan. But seeing you two together now, how happy you are. I guess he's not as bad as I thought."

Rory smiled. "Thanks for your vote of confidence Jess. Really. I mean it."

Looking across the room at Logan, standing there talking to her mother and grandmother, Rory smiled, so grateful that she took that leap of faith.


	11. Chapter 10

**AN:** This is it! The last official chapter, I still have an epilogue to post tomorrow night. I've really enjoyed writing this journey,and hope that you have enjoyed reading it. To my reviewers! Thank you so much!

 _ **One year later**_

"Come on Logan. Hurry up, we're going to be late." Rory yelled up to the bedroom.

Logan sighed, took a breath and made one last trip through his mental checklist before he was ready to grab the bags and head downstairs.

"Logan, seriously. Sometimes you're worse than a girl. I've been ready for twenty minutes." She chastised him.

"Sorry Ace, what can I say. Perfecting this beauty takes time." He laughed.

"Please." She said. "You wake up looking that good."

"Thanks Ace, my ego enjoyed that." Logan smiled.

"Ok seriously Logan, we need to get going. My grandmother is going to kill us if we are late."

Rory said impatiently.

"Well we certainly don't want to face the wrath of Emily. Come on miss soon to be published author."

The column in the times had been such a hit that it wasn't long before the book deals started to come in. Some were even talking about turning it into a movie.

The commute to Hartford took slightly longer than planned, and Logan was getting pretty antsy sitting in traffic.

"Logan, calm down. It's ok. We still have time to get there."

They were heading to a DAR function, a fundraiser for the Heart and Stroke foundation, spearheaded by Emily, in memory of Richard. The second anniversary of his death was fast approaching, Emily wanted to find a way to honour his memory.

By the time they arrived at the country club they were definitely running late, barely having enough time to change into their formal wear.

"Logan, you grabbed the wrong garment bag. This isn't the dress I was going to wear. I'm not even sure if this still fits!" Rory sighed, exasperated as she pulled a familiar blue dress out of the garment bag.

"Oh shit, I'm sorry Ace. It'll still fit, I'm sure of it. You look even more amazing than you did back then." Logan said with a smile and a twinkle in his eye.

Rory donned the gown, it did still fit, but it was a tad on the tight side. Smoothing it out she smiled, thinking back to the last time she wore it. When Logan took her by the hand and took a flying leap off a tower.

By the time they had changed, they barely had time to slide into their seats before dinner was served.

Logan still appeared slightly antsy, but Rory chalked it up to the fact that his parents were sitting two tables away.

Shira and Mitchum had found out about Rory not long after she was hired at the New York Times. To Shira, it was the end of the world. To Mitchum, he was secretly pleased. He recognized that Rory brought out the best in his son, and although he would never admit it. He was a little proud of her, for proving him wrong.

Dinner went by without a hitch, and soon the dance would begin.

Part way through the evening, Logan saw Finn re-enter the ballroom and head over to the DJ booth. Shortly thereafter Moon River came on.

"Come on Ace. Let's dance." Logan grabbed her hand.

As he took Rory into his arms and began to dance, he looked over his shoulder and Finn gave him a thumbs up. He smiled. As they continued dancing he looked over to Lorelai, she gave him a sweet smile as well. He felt some relief wash over him.

"I have such good memories of this song Ace."

"Oh do you?" She asked, smiling as she knew exactly what he was referring to.

"The last time I danced to this song, it was with a girl, who wanted to have fun. Stringless fun. I might add. I warned her, that I didn't think she was cut out for that, but she insisted that she was. She was wrong. But so was I. I didn't think I was boyfriend material, that I couldn't make a commitment."

Rory smiled. "I'm glad we were wrong."

"You know though. I always wondered what might have happened if we weren't interrupted that night." Logan said with a mischievous smile.

He leaned in close and whispered in her ear. "Maybe we should go find out."

"Logan. Here? Now? We can't." Rory replied.

"Sure we can Ace. Need I remind you that last time this was your idea? Come on."

Logan dragged Rory off the dance floor and off to find the room they had commandeered more than a decade ago.

"I think this is it." Rory said, reaching for the door.

Kissing Logan as she reached for the doorknob, they stepped into the room. When she turned around, her breath was completely taken away from her.

Every inch of the room was covered in candles. In the centre of the room, their rocket sat on a table, surrounded by other mementos of their relationship.

"Logan? What is this?" She asked.

As she turned around, she saw that Logan was down on one knee.

"Rory, I know you aren't one for grand gestures, but like I told you last time. Proposals are about grand gestures. I'm kind of hoping this one goes a little better than last time though." Logan chuckled.

"When I lost you all those years ago, my life was never the same. I tried to mask the pain, and move on, but I never truly could. Then, a tragedy brought us back together, but tore us back apart. I thought my life was over at that point. When I saw you that day at Finn's apartment, I was in shock. I didn't think I would have the opportunity to talk things out with you. And then, we happened. You jumped, took a leap of faith in yourself, and took a leap of faith in me. This last year, has been the best year of my life, you have been by my side every day, and I want that to continue, until we're old and grey" he took a breath.

"Rory Gilmore. Will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?"

Rory paused, for what felt like forever, before a smile crept into her face and responded "you jump, I jump Jack."

"That's the best news I've ever heard Ace." Logan smiled, picking her up, twirling her around and kissing her again.

"Ok, we better get back out there. I'm sure your mom is dying to see you." Logan told her.

"My mom knows?" Rory asked.

"Of course your mom knows. And let me tell you, her response was much more enthusiastic than the last time I spoke to her on that particular topic."

"Well that's a relief" Rory laughed.

"But wait before we go" Rory grabbed his tie and bit her lip.

"I thought we were going to see where this went, without interruptions this time. Logan smiled, kissed her, and went over to make sure that the door was locked this time.

Half an hour later, looking slightly disheveled, Rory and Logan emerged, smiling and walked hand in hand back to the ballroom.

Lorelai immediately came over, hugging her daughter. Both were soon excitedly discussing the news, so much so that they started to draw the attention of others. Rory looked back at Logan, grabbed his hand and nodded.

Many people were now looking at them, so Logan spoke up.

"Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention for a moment please. Many years ago in this very ballroom, a journey started, we didn't know where it would lead us, but we were willing to take that first step. Today, we decided to take another step. I would like to introduce you to my fiancé, Rory Gilmore."

Polite applause surrounded them, and many well wishes of congratulations were given for the remainder of the evening.

As they were heading out, they went to say goodbye to Emily.

"Rory, your grandfather would be so proud of you. Your success this last year, and the happiness that you are radiating. He is looking down today and smiling."

Rory thanked her grandmother, gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and headed out to the car.

"Take me home Mr. Huntzberger" Rory said.

"Right away Mrs. Soon to be Huntzberger" Logan smiled, as they climbed in the car to head back to New York.


	12. Epilogue

**AN:** Well, this is it! Thank-you all so much for sharing this journey with me! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. I have another story in the works, and hope it will be ready to start posting in the next few weeks. Until then!

 _ **Three years later**_

"Ok sweetie. Remember just like we practiced." Rory said crouching down talking to the little girl with brown curls.

The little girl nodded.

"Grandma Emily will be waiting for you at the other end." Rory told her.

Rory stood up, and started to smooth out her dress and adjust her veil.

Paris and Lane both gave her quick hugs, before they started down the aisle.

All that was left were Rory, and her mother.

"Ready?" Lorelai asked her.

"Ready" Rory replied.

Meanwhile at the other end of the aisle, the little girl had blown past Emily and ran up to Logan wrapping her arms around his legs and screaming "Daddy!"

Everyone in the church chuckled.

Logan crouched down to look the little girl in the eye.

"Hi sweetie, I'm so glad to see you. You look so pretty"

The little girl smiled.

"Mommy is going to be coming to see me in a minute, and I really need to you to be on your best behaviour. Why don't you go sit with your Grampie Luke?" Logan continued.

The little girl smiled and skipped down to the first pew where Luke, Emily, and Christopher were sitting.

At the back of the church, Rory gave her mothers hand one last squeeze, and they linked arms and started down the aisle.

The ceremony was short and simple, just as Rory and Logan had wanted. Before they knew it, it was time for their vows.

"I Lorelai Leigh Gilmore, promise to love you without condition, to honor you each and every day. To laugh with you when you're happy, to support you when you're sad. To guide you when you ask for direction, to challenge you to be a better person, and allow you to do the same for me. To be your biggest fan, and your ever present listening audience. But above all, I always promise to jump with you." Rory smiled

"I Logan Elias Huntzberger, promise to love you without condition, to honor you each and every day. To laugh with you when you're happy, to support you when you're sad. To guide you when you ask for direction, to challenge you to be a better person, and allow you to do the same for me. To be your biggest fan, and your ever present listening audience. But above all, I always promise to jump with you." Logan said as he squeezed her hands.

They exchanged the rings, and before they knew it, they were being pronounced as husband and wife.

As they had their first kiss as a married couple, the little girl tugged on Lorelai's arm.

"Mommy is so pretty." The little girl said.

"Yes sweetie, she is." Lorelai said with tears in her eyes.

By the time they had arrived, the reception was in full swing. Everyone seemed to be having a wonderful time. The dance floor was full, and over by the bar Logan saw Finn chatting up one April Nardini, with a very concerned looking Luke standing not too far away. Logan had to laugh.

As everyone sat down for dinner, it was clear that even the Huntzberger clan was having a good time. Shira had come around shortly after their engagement, when Rory and Logan realized that it wasn't just one new adventure starting that night, but two, in the form of little Lorelai Huntzberger. Lorelai, now a precocious toddler, was full of energy and excitement like her father, but could still be more reserved, and loved books just like her mother. She had everyone wrapped around her little finger.

After dinner, they traveled from table to table, greeting everyone and thanking them for being a part of their day. When they finally had a moment alone, Rory pulled Logan aside to tell him, that she had finally taken the test, it wasn't just wedding nerves, they were expecting baby number two. Logan instinctively reached for her stomach, and pulled her in for a kiss. For tonight, that would be their little secret. The best wedding gift he could imagine.

As the first few bars of Moon River played from the DJ, they knew it was their cue to head out on the dance floor.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I am pleased to present Mr. And Mrs. Logan and Rory Huntzberger."

As they danced, the crowd faded away from their vision, their eyes just on one another. Caught up in this moment in time. There they were, just Rory and Logan, two people who against all odds came together with the promise of forever.

Later, as Logan Huntzberger stood on the edge of the dance floor looking at his friends and family enjoying themselves, one arm around his wife, and the other holding his daughter, he knew that life truly could not get any better than this.


End file.
